In 1912, Virginia Quaresma was invited to come to Brazil to cover the story
of the femicide of Anita Levy by her husband, the well-known poet, João
Barreto.[12]
She moved to Rio de Janeiro with her partner, Maria da Cunha Zorro, for whom
she also secured employment with the newspaper, A Época, which had
hired her.[13]
Quaresma not only reported the details of the crime, by following the police
investigation and trial, but she framed the story in feminist terms,
discussing the violence, Barreto's alcoholism and jealousy, and the lack of
legal protection for women from violence. The case elevated her career and she
became known as a crime reporter, though Barreto was acquitted.[14][15]
Da Cunha's death on 10 January 1917, probably was the event which propelled
Quaresma to return to Portugal,[13]
where she rejoined A Capital.[4]
She continued following the case of Barreto, publishing demands for justice
for Levy. In 1921, he was retried and convicted. In an interview with Spain's
ABC, Quaresma said she could not let the campaign go and needed to
obtain justice for the victim.[15]